When the storms of 2014 crashed into England’s south coast, a tantalising glimpse of life and death in the Georgian period was revealed by the ferocious weather. One of the stories told by the guides who lead harbour trips around Portsmouth tells of the bodies of convicts or Napoleonic prisoners of war buried all over Burrow Island (known locally as ‘Rat Island’). Unlike many urban myths about buried items on the Ministry of Defence estate, this tale has proved to be true.
As the waves lashed the small rubble cliff, several bones were exposed by the erosion. Unmistakeably human, they were reported to our Ministry of Defence Archaeology team by the local police, and in response we raised a group of volunteers to spend a couple of days recovering the remains that had been uncovered or washed out. More detailed assessment was clearly called for, though – and that opportunity arose in the spring of 2017, with the launch of a project called ‘Exercise Magwitch’.
Burrow Island is a small tidal patch of land lying between Gosport (with its old military prison of Forton and the naval hospital of Haslar) and the historic Portsmouth naval base – the site is visible from HMS Victory. It is mostly covered by ivy and trees, but several walls – possibly the remnants of a square defensive structure called Fort James, which was demolished in the 19th century, possibly part of a later jetty – can be seen protruding towards the foreshore. Each day, as the tides recede, a long and narrow causeway connects it to Priddy’s Hard, creating a handy temporary bridge that enabled our team to walk to the site.
